The Choices We Make
by Rainbow-Says-Rawr
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin gets a hold of one of Regina's mirrors and uses it to spy on Belle. Rumbelle, set after he sends Belle away, with different results.
1. Chapter One

**Summary: **Rumpelstiltskin gets a hold of one of Regina's mirrors and uses it to spy on Belle. Rumbelle, set after he sends Belle away, with different results.

**Author's Note: **My first Rumbelle fan fic, woo. I've been increasingly obsessed with Once Upon a Time so I thought I ought to express my love for this pairing, with a hiiint of Disney. Oh, and as a note, this fic operates under the assumption that Regina was 100% lying and Belle returned to her life somewhat happily. Title is subject to change, I just couldn't think of anything else. Also, don't hold me to it but this may involve a bit of smut in the future, hehe.

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin sighed and sat down in his chair at the head of the long, rectangular table. His estate had never felt emptier, even before Belle's stay. The emptiness seemed to crush him, even though he tried to convince himself that it was what was best for everyone, that Belle was fooling herself when she thought it was true love. He tried to rule out the possibility that perhaps _he_ was the one fooling himself.

He still made deals, of course. His life was largely the same in that regard. He still plotted and made potions and traded and everything he did before, but he no longer had anything to look forward to upon returning to his estate. He was greeted with a familiar but unwelcome desolation. He was reminded of an old saying, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone."

During times of loneliness or great emotion before he met Belle, he often spun for hours and even days on end. However, no matter how hard he tried, whatever power the spinning wheel had over him before had been temporarily, or permanently, demolished. He hoped that it was the former.

He did, however have one last resort. A guilty pleasure, he supposed. He stood from his chair and walked to his quarters, searching around various piles of trinkets and other items he had received from deals. He knelt next to a small chest and opened it, pulling out a small object, wrapped in cloth. He pulled it off, revealing an ornate hand mirror.

He had gotten it from a simple deal with a thief, and hadn't placed much value in it. It was obvious the owner didn't either, for if they had known the mirror's true power it was likely that they wouldn't have given it away for so little a price. It was one of Regina's own enchanted mirrors, yet another spell had been placed upon it to render her unable to use it. It still, however, retained it's original power of being able to have the user view any subject with only a few words.

At first, he had attempted to use it to see Bae, to locate him and make sure he was fine. Unfortunately, the mirror's magic could only extend so far and it was unable to show him anything but his own reflection. In his anger after that miserable failure, he was tempted to destroy the damn thing and be done with it. He did not like the idea of owning something that once belonged to Regina, even if it had been turned against her. But something inside him told him to save it, that it could be useful. And he was glad he did, for it had indeed become useful. For now, he used it to view Belle.

At first, he had questioned the morals of spying on her, of violating her privacy. Eventually he decided he really didn't care, being a man of few morals, and went on with it. Part of him wanted to know that she still loved him, that she was miserable without him. The other part of him wished that she was happy without him, and that her happiness could justify the pain that he felt, that it was for the best. Either way, it helped him just to be able to see her, to know that she was still there.

However, a downfall of the mirror was that you could never guess at what you were going to see until you were seeing it. Most of the time when he checked in on her, he found her seemingly happy, laughing with friends, sharing dinner with her family, or reading in the garden. One day he had accidentally caught her bathing but he tried his best not to think about that. Still, all of these images had contributed to his ideal that he had made the right decision by sending her away.

But now, as held the ornate mirror in his hands and spoke her name aloud, he was greeted with an image of her sitting alone in her quarters, her expression despairing. She sighed and brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly, closing her eyes. "Rumpelstiltskin ..." she whispered, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. It was now that he realized that the times he had viewed her as happy, she was really not. She put on an act for others, made believe that she was fine but now, when she was alone and unaware that anyone was watching, she let her true emotions show.

Rumpelstiltskin was not content with this. He could handle his own misery, as he often had in the past. It was nothing to him. However, her misery, he could not and would not accept. He had rejected her because he thought, in his fear, that it was what was best for the both of them. However, he could now see his actions as the mistake that they were. He could not sit by knowing he had caused her such pain.

He decided he had to do something about it.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary: **Rumpelstiltskin gets a hold of one of Regina's mirrors and uses it to spy on Belle. Rumbelle, set after he sends Belle away, with different results.

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Just a notice, I changed the title. I think it fits better but I'm still not sure if I like it.

A lot of this fic is inspired by a roleplay I'm in, so I'd like to thank the lovely players involved. c: Also, please excuse any some errors and stuff, I wrote this at like 4 am with like 3 hours of sleep previous. Hopefully I'll have time to go back and edit it later, but I really wanted to get it posted.

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**Chapter Two**

* * *

Soon after, Rumpelstiltskin returned to Belle's village with the intent of meeting with her. He had to admit, he was excited to see her, despite the underlying fear that accompanied seeing her again after what had transpired between them. To see her through the mirror was nice, of course, but it was no substitute for seeing her in person.

He soon spotted her, walking amongst the other villagers and smiling when she knew someone was watching her. She remained with them for a while, and he was forced to wait awkwardly in the shadows until the two of them could be alone. Only a few people in the village would actually recognize him, of course, but he wasn't willing to take the chance.

Eventually, later in the evening, she bid farewell to her friends and began to retreat towards her home. As she did so, he began following her. He stopped in his tracks as soon as they were in a relatively secluded place, and tried to think of how to get her attention.

"Belle." He uttered, not sure if it was a question or a statement. It felt good to say her name aloud.

Belle's eyes lit up for a moment as she turned around and recognized the figure standing before her, but after a moment it faded as she seemed to remember all that he had done.

Her expression remained blank with a practiced precision. "Yes?" She answered, forcing a cold indifference into her tone.

"I-I …" He stepped forward, but had no idea how to continue. What was he to say?

She paused for a moment, waiting for him to speak. When he did not, she turned to leave. "Well as eloquent as you are, I have a lot of things to attend to, if you'll excuse me."

He was shocked at her nonchalance. Reaching out, he grabbed her arm gently to stop her departure. "That's all? After all that happened between us?"

She pulled her arm away from him and turned to face him. "That is all, _because_ of what happened between us. You made your choice, Rumpelstiltskin, and I was not it. I love you, but I refuse to be hurt again." Her expression remained blank, but the pain was obvious in her eyes. She remained only a moment longer before she left to return home, leaving him in stunned silence.

* * *

Days passed since their confrontation and Rumpelstiltskin found himself in an even darker place than he had previously been. Part of him regretted seeing her, another part was grateful to have contact with her in any way.

He spent a large amount of his time staring out the windows in the main room of his estate. He could not force himself to cover them once more, even though the sunlight only served to remind him of what he had lost, and how he did not belong in any place but the shadows.

Once or twice, he had entertained the possibility of erasing his memories of Belle. He certainly had the capability, a potion in a small little bottle could alleviate all of his Belle related woes, but even as he held it in his hands, he knew he could not take it. He did not wish to get rid of his pain if it meant the good memories that he shared with Belle would also be taken away. So instead, he largely wallowed in his misery, and when he would allow himself, he'd watch Belle through the mirror.

He sighed as he told the mirror for what had to be the twentieth time that day, to show him Belle. She sat in a large chair, reading. He smiled, as he always enjoyed when she was reading. It seemed like the first genuine smile he had seen was in reaction to a book she had been reading. His smile quickly faded when he realized what that meant.

It would have been so much easier for him to let go if she was happy. If she had said that she hated him and was glad to be rid of him it, would have hurt, but it would have been easy to let go. But of course, she had to love him, and he had to love her.

He put the mirror aside, and ran a hand through his hair as he grimaced. There was, of course, yet another unintended consequence of loving the sweet girl known as Belle. The curse that he had worked on for so long, that he had dedicated himself to creating in order to be reunited with his son was now useless to him. There was, as there always is, a price for the curse he had been trying so desperately to achieve. And just his luck, that price happened to be "the heart of that which you love."

He could never justify sacrificing one of his loves to find the other, let alone actually hurt Belle. As it was, the curse was thoroughly useless to him. Everything he had done was in vain. His powers were as good as useless to him.

Trying to calm down for a moment, his eyes drifted over once again the mirror. He thought about what Belle had said, days previous, and once again an idea came to him. _Perhaps not all is lost..._

Rumpelstiltskin had ruined many things in his life, but soon he would have the pleasure of fixing something.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary: **Rumpelstiltskin gets a hold of one of Regina's mirrors and uses it to spy on Belle. Rumbelle, set after he sends Belle away, with different results.

**Author's Note: **It's my birthday, but I guess this chapter is my present to you guys, haha. Enjoy, at least they're finally ... mostly happy now. Once again, I wrote this on very little sleep so I will have to go back and edit it after my mind is cleared. So, forgive any small mistakes, please.

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**Chapter Three**

* * *

Before Rumpelstiltskin left to confront Belle once again, he had a few things to do. Namely, he planned to add onto the enchantments on his estate to make it incredibly difficult to locate. He figured it would be best if people could only find him when he wanted to be found. He was about to take a rather large leap of faith, he needed something to fall back upon.

After he had arranged everything as he needed it to be, he once again journeyed to her village, this time happy to find her alone when he arrived. She sat by a tree, quietly reading a book. He stood there silently for a moment, trying to think of how to do this. Eventually, he gave up and walked straight up to her, making his presence known. Belle looked confused, and stood.

"Rumpel-" She started to say his name, but was interrupted when he placed his hands on her cheeks and drew her face close, pressing his lips to hers, and kissed her.

The change started happening immediately. At first, it felt good, like the dark magic that was leaving him had relieved some sort of internal pressure. He pulled back from her after a moment, and he felt as if he could truly breathe. Belle stared at him in disbelief.

However, after a moment he was reminded of a shooting pain in his knee that he had so long been without. He winced and stumbled forward, which startled Belle out of her stunned silence and she quickly reached out to support him. He laughed slightly and looked up at her. "It had been so long … I forgot what it's like to be human."

She helped him to a nearby bench and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder. "Y-You really did it …" She mumbled, still in disbelief.

"I did, for you." He ran his hand through her hair. He had to admit he was still astounded as well. She looked up into his eyes, tears threatening to spill over. He frowned slightly. "Don't cry, love."

She shook her head and blinked a few times. "I just … I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

* * *

After a brief conversation with her father, Belle was able to convince him that she was staying with relatives in another village for a few weeks. It was a temporary solution, but it worked for now. It was much easier to explain than the truth was, and they could figure out a long term solution later, hopefully one that would not involve Rumpelstiltskin revealing himself as the man that had taken his daughter away.

The two of them soon journeyed back to his estate. It was an incredibly odd feeling for the both of them. For Rumpelstiltskin it was odd because he actually had to hire a carriage, which he had _never_ done. It was going to take a while before he was adjusted to being a human again.

For Belle, it was odd due to the fact that she was returning to his estate to fill an entirely different role. She was truly his guest now, no longer a prisoner or a housekeeper. It certainly didn't help that her last memories of the place were not exactly pleasant.

When they arrived, Rumpelstiltskin showed her to her old room, helped along by Belle. He made a note to himself to find a suitable cane soon so he wouldn't feel so incredibly pathetic.

Much to Belle's surprise, her room had been kept immaculately clean, unlike the rest of the estate, which had fallen into disarray. Similarly, on her way through the main room, she had taken notice of a particular object that had also received special care; the small cup that she would not had known had any significance, until she looked closer and noticed that it was slightly chipped. She did not say anything, but it meant a lot to her to see it sitting there on a pedestal.

As Belle settled once again into her room, Rumpelstiltskin excused himself and returned to his own quarters. A question had come into his head on the ride back, and he planned to investigate. What had become of his dagger? He sifted through trinkets in a chest, before he reached the hidden compartment that held the ornate dagger. He picked it up carefully, and breathed in sharply. _Rumpelstiltskin _still remain etched into the dagger. Staring at it a moment, he wondered how this could be. As he held it, he noticed his golden skin returning, starting at his fingertips and moving up his hand.

For a moment, he was tempted to let it continue. He had only been human for a couple hours and he already seen that it was rather unpleasant. However, Belle soon called for him from outside his quarters and he dropped the dagger. He did not wish to betray her trust, especially so soon after he had earned it. He quickly replaced the dagger and stood, answering her call. The magic quickly ebbed from him as he did so, presumably due to the absence of the dagger and the presence of Belle.

Glancing over at the trunk in which it resided, and sighed. He decided not to tell Belle about it.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary: **Rumpelstiltskin gets a hold of one of Regina's mirrors and uses it to spy on Belle. Rumbelle, set after he sends Belle away, with different results.

**Author's Note: **Bleh, sorry for taking so long to update! School started and most of my writing energy had been going to my roleplays. But, I think I should be back for a while!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin was happy. He was happier than he could ever remember being. Belle was his, and he was hers, and for now, that was all that mattered to him.

It was difficult to adjust to being fully human, but Belle was constantly offering her support and love which made it a considerable deal easier. The only true problem had been what to tell Belle's father. Eventually, they had decided on an old fashioned deception.

Rumpelstiltskin looked a good bit different as a human, and very few people even knew what he looked like in the first place. With a few changes to his appearance and quite a lot of help from Belle in matters of etiquette and decorum, he was able to pass himself off as a Duke from a far away land. He certainly had the gold to back up such a claim, even if Belle's veiled smirks and quiet snickers made it evident that he wasn't too convincing.

Either way, Belle's father didn't have too much of a choice, since her true betrothed, Gaston, had ... _mysteriously_ disappeared, and very few suitors were willing to step up after rumors of the strange circumstances behind his disappearance had circulated. He could tell it hurt Belle to hear such things said about her, but as always she took it in stride, and after all it helped to bring them together.

He remembered easily their first few moments after the wedding had taken place, walking into main room of his estate.

"So, my Duchess," he teased with a playful grin. "I do believe we are finally alone. What is it you wish to do?"

"Oh, I believe I can think of something..." She commented coyly, leaning over to place a kiss on his neck.

He was jerked from his reverie by the echoing sound of doors being opened at the entrance of his estate. He stood immediately and winced, shifting his weight back to his good leg and reaching for the cane that leaned against his spinning wheel. He often forgot about his leg, considering all the years he had been without the pain.

He looked around the room, some fear creeping into him. He knew Belle was in the library, and the estate had countless enchantments placed upon it to keep out unwelcome visitors. It would take someone with powerful magic months to find a way in.

He didn't have to wonder for long, for soon the large doors to the main room swung open effortlessly, revealing the Evil Queen herself. He cursed under his breath, but showed no emotion beyond that, sitting back down at his wheel as if her presence meant nothing to him. It seemed she was fond of proving that she could find a way in places where she wasn't wanted.

"So you aren't dead." She commented, with a smirk. "Everyone is so sure that someone or something had finally slain the monster that is Rumpelstiltskin. Why else would you have stopped making deals?" She walked closer until she was standing right next to him. A look of disgust came over her face. "Too bad the real reason is so much more pitiful." She scoffed. "Tell me, how is your little pet?"

He knew there was no point in correcting her that Belle was nothing of the sort, so instead he remained silent, staring at the wheel. Perhaps if he was boring enough, she would leave. As it was he had no idea what she wanted. He only hoped Belle wouldn't come to investigate.

"There's been a lot of talk about you, Rumpel." She said, reaching her hand out to stop the wheel, forcing his attention back to her.

He didn't even attempt to hide the hate in his eyes. "Isn't there always?" He sighed, placing the thread down. She wasn't going to go away until she got what she wanted, so perhaps it was easier to play along for now.

"Well, yes, but in the weeks leading up to your sudden retirement, there were some rather … interesting rumors. Specifically, that you had discovered and were planning on creating a certain curse." She leaned closer, though her usual intimidation techniques would not work on him.

"That may be true, but you are missing a few key words;_ had, and were._ I'm not longer interested in any of that. I'm a simple tradesman living in an enormous estate with my doting wife." There was a sort of biting sarcasm in his voice, making it clear that he did not want to be having this conversation.

She nearly snorted in derision. "Oh come now, Rumpel. Has she really poisoned you that much? You're so weak it's almost adorable." She reached out, almost as if to pinch his cheek, but he swatted her hand away before she could. She responded with an over exaggerated pout. "We used to be partners."

He glared at her. "We were never that, and you know it." He heard a quiet shuffling of feet, and looked up to see Belle standing in the hallway, pressed slightly against the wall in an attempt to not be seen. He quickly looked away so as to not draw attention to her.

"Perhaps I remember it differently." She paused, smirking in a way that made it obvious she was enjoying the interaction. "But as it is, I am more powerful, and hold a considerable amount of leverage over you. You will create the curse for me."

His face was tense and strained. "The fact is, _I can't._ Even if I wanted to. So it'd be best if you took your business elsewhere, _Your Majesty." _He stood, gesturing to the door.

Regina might not be as skilled in manipulation as he, but she certainly had experience in it. "I'm sure you'll find a way. After all, you have to." She commented, turning to look directly at Belle, making sure nothing about her actions could be misinterpreted. "Oh, and congratulations."

Rumpelstiltskin didn't allow himself to collapse until he was sure she had left the estate. Belle rushed to him, kneeling by his side as he sat on the spinning wheel's bench. She said nothing, merely comforted him with her presence.

"I don't know what to do, Belle." He said honestly, burying his face in her neck. It seemed their simple life together had gotten much more complicated.


End file.
